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3 Behold,
it is expedient that much should be done among this people, because of the
hardness of their hearts, and the deafness of their ears, and the blindness of
their minds, and the stiffness of their necks; nevertheless, God is exceedingly
merciful unto them, and has not as yet swept them off from the face of the
land.

4 And
there are many among us who have many revelations, for they are not all
stiffnecked. And as many as are not stiffnecked and have faith, have communion
with the Holy Spirit, which maketh manifest unto the children of men, according
to their faith.

5 And
now, behold, two hundred years had passed away, and the people of Nephi had
waxed strong in the land. They observed to keep the law of Moses and the
sabbath day holy unto the Lord. And they profaned not; neither did they
blaspheme. And the laws of the land were exceedingly strict. (Jarom 1:3-5)

These verses strike me as rather peculiar.Jarom tells us how hard-hearted and
stiff-necked his people are, and how much has to be done among them, yet two
verses later he also says that they observed the Law of Moses, kept the
Sabbath, and avoided profanity and blasphemy, and kept strict civil laws.

Those conditions seem almost diametrically opposed to each
other.

It seems that the people must have felt that keeping the
laws was enough and did not allow the performance of their duty to change their
hearts.

Sometimes when you are so focused on keeping the
commandments, you can develop a belief that everything is fine with you and you
have no more improvement to make, when really there is a lot of refinement to
do in our souls which can only be brought out through interpersonal relationships.

Sometimes it happens that I’ll be in the middle of doing
something relating to one of my callings or keeping a commandment and I realize
that I’m doing it with a spirit of apathy or impatience and annoyance.When I notice that, I have to
take a little time and ponder what my obedience means if done in the wrong
spirit.(Hint: It means the same
as if I had been disobedient.)But
it is enough to at least give me the desire to do it in the right spirit. And prayer is a good beginning for
inviting a attitude adjustment.I want to have the right spirit in my obedience.I want to be joyful when I obey.I want to find meaning in it and feel
the Lord’s pleasure in it.

What do you do when you find yourself stuck in apathy or
annoyance while obeying commandments?

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About Me

Michaela Stephens

Arizona, United States

I'm a happily married 32-year old who switched from Electronic Engineering Technology to Literature, Writing, and Film.
I worked for 3 years at ASU as a writing tutor and have over 400 sessions worth of experience helping people with their writing.
I'm the oldest of seven children (5 boys, 2 girls)
I'm a bit of a neat freak and an undeniable bookworm.

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